Imperium
by DragonMaster65
Summary: Head of the Renewed Galactic Empire, his Imperial Majesty Armitage Hux relies upon his two closest advisors, the Hound Rey and the Tribune Kylo Ren. Foremost however, Emperor Hux relies upon himself. {Companion piece to Bloodthirsty. Part 1 of the Pax Ut Prius series} [Oneshot]


**A/N:** **For Clarice Chiara Sorcha (claireoujisama) for the 2016 Reylux Tropesgiving exchange. The rest of the collection is available on AO3.**

 **Prompt received:**  
 **1.) Ruling Triumvirate**  
 **2.) Reluctant Force-Sensitive Hux**

 **This kind of ended up being more of a Hux-centric fic rather than pure Reylux, but c'est la vie. Hope you enjoy! Please read and review :3**

" _The line of ascension follows one path - to the glory of the renewed Empire."_

His Imperial Highness Hux, First Emperor of the Renewed Galactic Empire, rested his chin on bent fingers. He was suffering through the final meeting of his day, one between marginally influential planetary and coalition leaders, his attention waning with every word that managed to escape the current speaker's moustache to spill onto the table in a spray of saliva.

The man contested - between a dozen pardons, naturally - nearly all of the referendums which the emperor had carefully crafted to best improve the galaxy. A few fundamental rights were bruised, but there were safeguards in place to roll back the enforcement protocols once the remnants of rebellion were firmly eliminated. Many of the Outer Rim planets and more than a few "civilized" pockets of the galaxy would finally rise from their backwater ways.

Wiping his mouth with an open palm, the man continued to slowly spew his rhetoric. Hux's gaze moved across the rest of the council, his free hand lazily tracing the marble eddies on his chair's arm. He didn't fear this collection of sentients; they may possess power on their homeworlds or in their regions of space but that was nothing compared to the might of the unified empire.

"Finally, we of the Mrushthal Legion demand that His Imperial Highness release his family records to the public. With all respect due, the people have a right to know who His Imperial Highness will entrust our survival with in the event of his passing." The man concluded with a final 'hmph' and settling of his ill-fitting jacket.

As one, the heads of the other council members turned to face their ruler. Hux barely moved, his only motion one to tilt his head further into his palm.

"You insult me," Hux drawled. He ignored the quiet murmuring at the table, zeroing in on his target. The man's eyes were wet and darting, unwilling to look the man he had so thoughtlessly slandered. His tongue, pale and dry, swiped uselessly over his lips. He'd spent all his moisture during his slow crawl of an argument.

Hux allowed the man a chance to attempt to escape the grave he had dug himself. Incoherent attempts at further apologies were all that bubbled from the man's lips. Hux's eyes narrowed. "Something so banal as pedigree will tell you nothing about the state of this Empire," Hux snarled. Now he rose, fingers gripping at the table within white-knuckle ferocity.

"I will appoint a suitable successor when they make themself apparent. I _am_ the Empire. Without me, the Empire is nothing," Hux continued, his growl rising in volume. He would not be questioned. His legacy was not yet realized. How dare they question who would succeed him before his throne was even warm? How dare - - -

A muzzle flashed from the corner of his eye and Hux felt the world fall away.

* * *

" _Armitage is a weak-willed boy. He is nothing. He will be nothing. He is a disgrace to the name of Hux."_

As a child, Armitage Hux knew his place. He was the bastard son of a great military mind, the only stain on a glorious record. Greatness was expected from him and yet anything more than mediocrity was met with cruelty. A bastard did not belong in the cadet program.

Hux hid his bruises and fought back watering eyes whenever his father's sharp eyes bothered to glance at him, and yet it was still not enough. He did not stand up straight enough. He did not fight the bullies back. He did not avoid confrontation.

He did not vanish from his father's now-damned life. Instead, Hux wobbled in front of his father and bit his lip so that the tears could be blamed on the red cut there rather than the blackening around his eye.

"You won't amount to anything if you keep getting in fights with the other children," Brendol Hux shouted. Safe behind their quarter's doors, Brendol did not have to tolerate his spawn's existence with any level of patience. "You will be branded as trouble and you will be removed from the cadet program."

Hux wondered why his father had even placed him in the program in the first place. It would have been far easier to make his failed legacy disappear underneath a trooper helmet.

"It won't happen again," Hux swore. Blood dripped down his chin to be wiped away by a furtive rub of his hand. It would happen again. It would happen once a week for the next dozen cycles. By the time he was fourteen he would be able to win against any number of aggressors. By the time he was eleven Brendol would stop bothering to ask if he had.

His father's tirade would continue on and off throughout the evening. Though a Commandant, Brendol did nothing to improve the size of their living quarters. Hux would not be able to escape to his closet-sized room until finally dismissed. Until then, he would remain at the table or on the small chair - never Brendol's genuine Sullust leather couch - and work fervently through his assignments.

It ate at him, a gnawing deep inside his chest that ached without end. Nothing would sate the desire to be better than his ignoble lineage. Ranking higher than his tormentors only earned him more scorn and a split lip.

The monster inside him crowed for prestige and power. It purred when Hux drew blood and seethed when he lacked the strength to fight on. It drove him even harder and further than his father's apathy.

As a child, Armitage Hux deserved nothing.

As a man, Armitage Hux demanded everything.

* * *

" _He is no man. The Emperor is more than mere flesh and blood and bone. He is a god among mortals, a creature of unfathomable power and influence."_

Hux stared at the blaster bolt frozen in the air just beyond his reach. Blazing crimson, the energy crackled and surged. The table was bathed in the unstable red light. Fear and surprise colored the expressions of most of the council save for a select few.

The faces which did not echo the sentiment of complete surprise were those of Hux's royal guard. Rather, they surged forward and one was even so bold as to try to remove the emperor from his position. He shoved the guardsman back and gestured towards the rail-thin female sentient who was holding the blaster.

"Bloody useless, the lot of you!" Hux snarled. There shouldn't have been a blaster in anyone's possession from the moment they stepped inside the complex never mind at the same table as the emperor. Measures would have to be taken, procedures evaluated, ranks demoted.

Still, that was for his Tribune to deal with. Right now, Hux had a traitor to deal with.

The would-be assassin was frozen, her hand not wavering and her finger still on the trigger of her weapon. She didn't have the chance to make a second shot and now she never would. One of the guards pried the weapon from her locked hand.

Hux took a moment to consider her and another to curtail his rage.

"That was, in a word, pathetic," he intoned slowly. "You dare to confront me at the seat of my power without so much as a glimmer of grace or intelligence? How exactly were you planning on getting away with this?"

Hux eyed the woman, nothing the way her face slowly darkened. His grip was too tight, too demanding. She couldn't breathe, her chest frozen in the constrictor-like grasp of the invisible forces wielded by the emperor.

 _Barbaric._

When the blaster was deposited into his waiting hand, Hux released the woman. She tumbled forward and air whistled harshly through her windpipes as she gasped for breath. The reprieve was short lived. From beyond his chair a false panel surged open and a black-clad force user stormed into the deliberating chamber.

If Hux was the fury of a raging inferno, Rey was the uncaring power of Nature itself. The woman shoved aside three of Hux's personal guard - now clustering about his chair to shield him from future attacks - and collided with the assassin.

Hux's grasp of the force was all subtleties, casual shifts in his enemies thoughts or an insidious uprising among the weak-willed masses. He only resorted to using it in this manner when absolutely necessary.

Rey disagreed with his sparing use of the Force. Since learning of her abilities she'd consumed every piece of lore and legend to build an arsenal of skills that all had one purpose - eliminate a threat to herself, her mentor, or their regent. Her hands were stained with the blood of a thousand enemies of the throne so that Hux's would remain alabaster white.

As such, Hux watched with mild curiosity as Rey continued to pin the woman to the ground. The hand about the woman's throat drew blood as her claw-like nails dug into supple flesh. She was restraining herself but only barely. "Clear the room," Hux ordered, moving to sit atop his marble throne once more.

The people scattered. They didn't dare remain, not while the Hound was on the hunt. The people feared the wrath of the Hound. Unchained, unmuzzled, Rey was given free reign to eliminate whatever foe that presented themself. Rumors flew on the subject of the Hound's fury. The people would weep to know their worst imaginings were only the tip of the iceburg.

She didn't even have to track down her prey this time; The woman had served herself up on a silver platter.

Hux inclined his head, closing his eyes. The monster growled, malcontent. Someone had questioned his right to rule in the most forthright manner possible. Where one spoke up, dozens more would listen and question his dominance.

The door closed as the final observer departed. Even the imperial guards left though they wouldn't dare go farther than the adjacent antechamber.

Rey's voice was a growl coming from the floor. "Do you want to leave?" She didn't have to question if Hux was alright. She never had to. Kylo might have fussed, might have lingered by his side before turning to the traitor. It was why Rey was given the mantle of Hound and Kylo that of the Tribune.

Hux shook his head. "Not just yet. I have planning to do," he said simply.

Rey grunted in affirmation, already focused on her own task. Hux steepled his hands, his own thoughts chasing away the screams that began to echo throughout the chamber.

* * *

" _The man consumed the beast and the beast consumed the man. They are one and have never been more."_

Wood splintered into shards, falling to the ground in a pile. Hux grimaced, choosing to ignore the destruction and focus on the papers in front of him. "How dare they," Kylo ranted, storming to the remains of the chair to wreak further havoc. His voice echoed even with the gently sloped curtains that rimmed the room. "Ignoring the damage they could have done to the Empire, can they not see they're only going to get themself killed and their cause utterly obliterated?"

The ex-knight rounded on Hux, no longer intent upon destruction. "And you - you didn't think it pertinent to contact me immediately that an attempt had been made on your life?" Kylo hissed.

Hux raised a slim, orange eyebrow. "No," he replied simply.

From the opposite corner of the room lounging atop a pile of furs and fleece, Rey spoke. "If you could really call it an attempt. The fool stood up and shot at him with a plastic blaster. It was hardly a true threat," she drawled. The brunette was stark naked. She'd gotten out of the shower nearly an hour ago and still had yet to get dressed. Some habit leftover from her desert days. Neither man minded.

Kylo was unconvinced. He crossed his arms and Hux was reminded of the multitude of times the same glare had been directed at him aboard the _Finalizer_. "I don't care if the woman came at him with a serving knife," he said. The corners of his mouth were tipping into dangerous territory. "Hux, you have to understand why this concerns me."

Of course the man was worried. It was only logical that such a bold-faced attack be met with concern. However Hux wasn't so much concerned with the actual attempt compared to the threat behind it. He ignored Kylo's comment and looked to Rey for further support.

"Did the woman have any additional help? Any ties to a network or organized resistance?" Hux pressed.

Rey hummed, shaking her head. "She had hardly a thought in her head. It was a miracle that she'd even gotten on the council itself. I think someone else worked out the plan and told her to execute it, poor creature," Rey explained. Her voice was cold, detached as she concentrated carefully.

Force users were capable of shredding a person's psyche if not careful while looking through a person's mind. Whole memories could be lifted, though not without significant harm done. The woman had been destined for execution already. Rey had not been gentle.

"But as far as knowing who was involved, it seems from her dealings that she wished to be as out of the loop as possible. Everything was conducted through a private holonet," Rey continued to speak as she further pawed through the salvaged wreckage of the woman's mind. "Oh, that's actually something. Have the guard toss her shuttle; there is a data chip hidden in a false panel that has the network access information."

Hux glanced at Kylo. That was his purview. The guard responded to any of the triumvirate but most of their direct coordination came from Kylo. As much as it pained Hux to admit, the man was better at motivating the assortment of special force squadrons and grunt troops than Hux had been as General.

Having a plan took Kylo's focus from the stark fact that one of them had nearly died today. It pleased Hux. He didn't enjoy manipulating his Tribune, doing so detracted from the man's role, but in matters like this he could be… reactionary. Better to direct that energy against a foe than towards fussing over Hux's life. One would benefit the Empire. The other would simply aggravate the emperor.

His lips pursed, Kylo nodded in acknowledgement. Good. The matter was settled. "I will oversee the examination personally as well as the execution of the fine ambassador's crew," Kylo swore.

Rey sat up at that. Fervor sparked in her eyes and a wolf-like curl came to her smile. "Allow me to assist? At least to find the ones who have no doubt started to slip away through the cracks," she insisted. The Hound needed a hunt. Kylo assented after only a moment's more prodding. The message would be clear with both Hound and Tribune on the prowl. Vengeance and Justice, condensed into two awe-inspiring forms.

The hunger in Hux's chest growled again. There was still more to be done.

* * *

" _Do not walk headfirst into the lion's den and expect to leave again. He does not fear the whip when he still has his teeth, his claws, his pride."_

"I am heartened by your willingness to speak with me about our system's concerns, Your Highness," the ambassador was positively tripping over his words, his hands ringing. A pathetic attempt to remain calm. Hux smiled blithely and inclined his head. He could pretend in this moment that the man was deserving of his attention.

Hux had spent the majority of the day listening carefully to the reports from his Tribune's intelligence brigade. With so little to go on they could only speculate who may have been involved in the previous day's… event. But speculation could be verified in a matter of hours when one's guard possessed the ability to interrogate a suspect without the person knowing.

Kylo had stepped into the reconvened meeting to relay their final discoveries. It was a swift report, concluded with the barest whisper of a kiss upon Hux's cheek as the man stepped away.

The emperor smiled, bid his Tribune thanks, and resumed the meeting. All the while he watched his newly revealed enemy huff and puff about the "state of the empire." It was rewarding to probe the minds of those remaining at the table and nudge them into conflict with the man.

By the end of the meeting, the Mrusthal ambassador was sweating in his seat from defending his position from all fronts. Hux rose from his chair and offered an olive branch - a chance to discuss terms and positions personally.

Strolling in his Imperial Majesty's personal menagerie, that was exactly what the Mrusthalite was doing. Never paying any mind to the exotic and alien collection of creatures around them, he pounded forth a litany of demands and outrages against the empire. A particularly callous comment on the "necessity" of slave trade finally pushed Hux over the edge.

The emperor put out a hand, stopping their circuit of the lavish enclosures. The ambassador hardly noticed and he continued his tirade for another minute. Impatience curled in Hux's gut, tempered only by pure willpower. Finishing with a customary tug of his jacket and nod of his head, the ambassador oozed smugness. The nervous coward from the beginning of the evening was gone, leaving behind a bombastic slug.

"Are you quite done?" Hux intoned. His hands were clasped behind his back if only to keep them from wringing the man's neck.

The monster snarled and spat, unsatisfied.

Stunned, the man in front of Hux nodded. "Yes?"

"I should hope so," Hux said curtly. "Now is your turn to listen and my turn to speak." It was difficult, though necessary, to curtail the smirk that tried to make its way onto his mouth. A lesser man may have bragged or gloated. Hux was no lesser man.

He gestured about them. "When you were blathering on about _injustices_ against your people brought by the terror that is my empire, did you not consider where you are?" Confusion replaced the surprise on the man's face.

Hux stepped back and gestured widely with both arms. "You're standing at the heart of it," he explained. "Every decision that I make can be traced back here, to my menagerie. I thought you of all people would appreciate it."

Brow furrowed, the ambassador finally found his voice. "I do not understand," he said.

"Of course not. If you had understood, you would not be here," Hux replied. He savored the spike of fear that now tinged the man's every twitch. "Do you know how I see the worlds that my empire spans? Hm? You think you do. You think I look at your pathetic system and see resources and manpower."

"No, I do not see mere monetary value in your people's homelands. I see my legacy on the precipice of its foundation," he crowed. "I see sentients who will one day owe their allegiance to the empire that feeds and provides for them because I deigned to pluck them from your hands and deliver them that future.

"Your descendents will owe their very existence to me and this empire. Just as these creatures around you now owe me their lives." Hux snapped his fingers, calling the attention of the caged beast closest to them.

The yellow-furred feline prowled forward, emerald eyes glittering in the evening air. A half-dozen paws padded the ground as it approached, the front pair reaching up to press against the bars. "I won't cage them, though. The sins of one man won't condemn an entire planet," Hux swore. "Those who do act against me, well…" The door's locking mechanism clicked as it unlocked.

The ambassador shrunk away, terror overtaking any vestiges of poise. That was always how they were in the end, frightened children.

Hux bared his teeth in a feral grin. There was no need to taunt the man further. He was trapped. He should have heeded the warnings, should never have gone against the fearless emperor. Half-composed pleas would not sway the man who would destroy the sun to get his way.

His pet lurched out of the cell. She was hungry, the poor thing. The beast wasted no time in hunting down her prey. Two paws brought him to his knees. Her jaws locked on his shoulder, preventing any further escape attempt.

Bones snapped. Blood pooled.

The beast fed.

Hux greeted his creature fondly when she had finished, petting the curve of her flank and allowing her to rest her chin on his shoulder.

His bloodlust sated, the monster settled on his haunches, waiting.


End file.
